MILPITAS, Calif., Feb. 5, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Two stranded snowmobilers were rescued from a remote location outside of Grand Junction, Co. on Tuesday night after pressing 9-1-1 on their SPOT(tm) Satellite Messengers. Will Eisemann and Mike Kelley of Grand Junction, Colorado were riding back from servicing a communication tower at 8,500 feet in a remote area when they got drawn off course due to white-out snow conditions with nightfall setting in.
"The weather was terrible -- 60 mile per hour winds and snow in every direction -- and we were stuck in 5 feet of snow," said Will Eisemann, a contract worker of the Grand Junction Communications Center. "With temperatures dropping, high winds, no moon and nightfall fast approaching, we knew that we were in trouble and we both pressed the 9-1-1 buttons on our SPOT units."
After one of their snowmobiles got stuck in deep snow, the two men had contacted the Mesa County Sheriff's office by cell phone. When they continued down the mountain on the second snowmobile, they lost all cellular coverage before getting stuck again. That's when they pressed the 9-1-1 buttons on their SPOT devices, sending their GPS location information and distress messages.
While Mesa county Search and Rescue were preparing to deploy a search party based on their cell phone call, they received a 9-1-1 call from the GEOS International Emergency Response Center in Houston used by SPOT. GEOS relayed the GPS location coordinates of the two stranded snowmobilers and the men were located and rescued 45 minutes later, 500 feet from Divide Rd.
"Without SPOT, the search for us could have gone on all night, in blizzard conditions. With SPOT, Mesa County Search and Rescue tracked our GPS coordinates that were updated every 5 minutes and knew exactly where to find us even after we moved 30 yards to build a snow shelter," added Kelley. "Only because of SPOT were we able to be located and rescued that quickly."
The National Association of Search and Rescue estimates that there are over 50,000 search and rescue missions launched each year in the United States. Most of these are initiated without knowledge of the victims' location. While the popularity of GPS navigation systems and the increased coverage of wireless phone networks give some people a sense of security, anyone who routinely ventures into the wilderness knows how unreliable phone service can be in remote areas. The SPOT Satellite Messenger significantly raises the safety factor for the hundreds of millions of people around the world who take to the outdoors each year.
SPOT enables users, based on varying levels of need, to send messages to friends, family, or emergency responders, and to visually track the location of the SPOT satellite messenger:
* Alert 9-1-1 notifies emergency responders of your GPS location
* Ask for Help sends a request for help to friends and family
* Check In lets contacts know where you are and that you are OK
* Track Progress sends and saves your location and allows contacts
to track your progress using Google Maps(tm)
Weighing just over 7 ounces and sold at U.S. $169.95 SRP, the SPOT satellite messenger is ideal for the growing market of more than 64 million estimated outdoor enthusiasts in the U.S., specifically for backpacking, camping, fishing, hiking, hunting, ice and rock climbing, skiing, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, or recreational maritime activities. In addition, SPOT provides peace-of-mind for anyone who spends a considerable amount of time in the outdoors or just wants to stay connected with a line of communication.
About SPOT Inc.
The SPOT Satellite Messenger, the world's first satellite messenger, uses both the GPS satellite network to determine a customer's location and the SPOT network to transmit that information to friends, family or an emergency service center. SPOT Inc., a subsidiary or Globalstar, Inc. (Nasdaq:GSAT), provides lifesaving communications technology that allows users to communicate from remote locations around the globe. Thanks to this affordable, cutting-edge personal safety device, the company offers people peace of mind by allowing customers to notify friends and family of their location and status, and to send for emergency assistance in time of need, completely independent of cellular phone or wireless coverage. For more information on how SPOT Inc. is helping users live to tell about it(tm) -- from disaster preparedness to outdoor adventure purposes -- visit www.findmespot.com.